National Association of Domino Bodies (NADB) President Humbert Davis says the Development and Retention Through Play programme has boosted academic excellence and personal growth among students at the Global Thinkers (GT) Academy.

Davis says by integrating dominoes into the curriculum at the school, the programme fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation skills, helping students excel academically and develop holistically.

“Dominoes isn’t just a game; it’s a powerful tool for learning and growth. It’s a gateway to learning. We’re using it to build the nation, one child at a time,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

Davis’s method focuses on developing students’ strengths, boosting confidence and self-esteem, and fostering holistic cognitive development.

“By investing in our human infrastructure, we must start at childhood and continue through life,” he said. “These exercises are designed to build confidence and self-esteem in participants, focusing on areas where students can use their strengths to build themselves up.”

Through exercises involving visual patterns, the aim is to have students learn to think creatively and make connections.

“It’s about connection,” Davis said. “You move from a dot to a line, from a line to a shape, and from a shape to a pattern. Everything is connected; it’s just a matter of seeing the dots.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and look forward to continuing to empower students through the game of dominoes. With this innovative approach, the NADB’s domino programme is poised to make a lasting difference in the lives of students,” Davis said.

GT Academy Principal Deon Daley observed that her students have developed a new perspective on the world through the domino programme.

“I have observed [that] my students flourished under Mr Davis’s unique strategy, which teaches body control and connectivity,” she said. “This approach fosters theoretical thinking and creativity as students learn to see relationships between seemingly disparate elements.

“Everything is connected. It doesn’t matter how it looks, it doesn’t matter how it appears to you, and everything is just connected. And in connectivity, it leads to critical thinking and creativity because your perception will be different, your method and foundation may be the same, but your approach and principle may be different, but however, you are achieving the same result.”

Daley is thrilled to see the positive impact on her students.

“I am excited that he had decided to choose GT and I see where my students are being impacted in a very positive way,” she said. “They are reasoning more, and they are very alert in their surroundings and in their talking. This helps them to express themselves more. Numeracy, which was a problem, has improved, and I see where reading was also a problem, but they are having an increase in students making that effort.”

Daley shared an example of a four-year-old student excelling in a spelling bee competition.

“When you can have a child at four years old entering a spelling bee competition and doing exceptionally well, it tells you that playing dominoes is not just banging down the table and making a lot of noise, but it has to do with reasoning, alertness, and understanding who you are in the eyes of who God created you to be, and knowing that everything is connected,” she said.

DALEY…I have observed [that] my students flourished under Mr Davis’s unique strategy, which teaches body control and connectivity. This approach fosters theoretical thinking and creativity as students learn to see relationships between seemingly disparate elements.